The Jewish people have never believed themselves to be the possessors of the only true faith or to have the exclusive path to reach God, and for this reason Judaism is not a proselytizing religion; there are no Jewish missionaries seeking to convert people of other religions to Judaism. Since our rabbis teach us that all the righteous among the nations could reach the “world to come,” there was no need to save the souls of those who are not Jews, since their own religions can give them access to God.

Abraham Joshua Heschel says that “the idea of ​​the chosen people does not suggest a preference of God that implies discrimination towards other peoples. It does not mean that the Jewish people have a special quality that distinguishes them, but rather what they have is a special relationship with God.”

Rabbinic tradition does not connect the idea of ​​the chosen people with a feeling of superiority; On the contrary, the rabbis believed that God had imposed far more severe responsibilities on the Jews than on other peoples of the world, simply by giving them the Torah.

Today the phrase “chosen people” is linked to its complement of being “the people who chooses.” This is not a modern idea. According to the Midrash, (Mechilta Vachodesh 5) the Hebrews were not even God’s first choice to give the Torah. God went to other nations first, asking them if they would be willing to accept the divine covenant. But the other nations found the implications of that covenant too arduous. When He comes to the Hebrews, they reply (Shmot 24:7) Naase venishmah, we will do and we will listen. But still, the Midrash tells us that God was hesitant to give His Torah to the people of Israel and asks them for a guarantor to guarantee that they will observe His commandments. Israel offers its Patriarchs and Prophets, including heaven and earth, but God does not believe that all of that is enough. So the Israelites offer their children as collateral, even those who were not born, and now God agrees to give them the Torah. (Midrash Aseret Hadivrot 68).

Jewish tradition tells us of a relationship between God and the children of Israel that, like a coin, has two sides. That relationship of choosing and being chosen was the divine way for the Torah to reach man. That is why we were chosen.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Choosing a Jewish Life by Anita Diamant.